I continue adding comments about my latest book, Things We’ve Handed Down.
So, it should not surprise you that today’s thoughts highlight the next chapter. This blog, and this chapter, come from the book Surprised by Joy from C.S. Lewis.
As I was writing my book, this chapter could not focus only on one book by Lewis. I relived, reread, and reflected on many of his books. What a variety he handed down.
Here are a few comments I wrote—think of how you yourself might just be surprised today by joy:
Scars. Limps. Wounds.
Prayers. Promises.
Now here I am.
Now here you are.
No longer waiting. Instead choosing.
Choosing joy. Choosing to refuse to wait for a destination as the goal accomplished, but allowing lessons learned during the journey to carry value. Choosing love and acceptance and forgiveness. Choosing disappointment as a time to be with God. Choosing to see light in the wounds and be healed by a Wounded Healer. Choosing to rest at a Tinker Creek or a Toccoa Falls or a hotel room on the north Georgia hills. Choosing hope and art and joy and wishful thinking and long obedience when waking early each morning. Choosing to hold on to some things handed down to me. Choosing to let go of other things. Choosing, with help from God and true friends. Choosing, without tension of a deadline or an agenda. Choosing, to not let the end of a dream end the greater dreams.
That’s what I can do when it ends. I can know it’s not the end.
That’s what you can do when it ends. You can know it’s not the end.
I love this.
I just got done listening to a song that is titled “Worship Through It” by Tasha Layton. Some of the lyrics from the song declare, “Before I see my breakthrough, I’m gonna choose to praise You.” This blog made me think of those profound lyrics. Before we see or experience that “good thing,” we can choose joy. When a situation does not go our way, we can still choose joy. We may not be able to change the outcome of certain circumstances, but we can choose joy. And that’s beautiful.
I really like this blog because it reminds me that joy is a choice, even in difficult times. The idea of seeing light in wounds and choosing hope, love, and forgiveness is powerful. It encourages me to focus on the journey and lessons learned rather than just the end goal.
This post was very encouraging and a good reminder for me to not dwell on the negative and difficult things in my life. I have the choice to be joyful and praise God through and in all things. I have been given the choice to either glorify God with my attitude, or be bitter and angry. I can be mad or I can be joyful. I must pick to be joyful more often.
Many times in my life have I let bad things happening to me feel like a bad thing. We always have a choice just as you’ve written here, you put it into really good and meaningful words. I have been practicing for a long time viewing negative or painful experiences as tolerable, and necessary, and also viewing positive experiences as enjoyable, and also necessary, not getting too excited when good things happen and not too negative when bad things happen, more of a balance.
This blog was a good reminder for me. It can be really easy to focus on the bad things that happen in life. They can cast a shadow on all of the good things. But it is important to remember that we must choose to shift our perspective. As believers, we are able to rejoice in all circumstances because we live in light of our salvation. Our salvation is the ultimate good, and no matter how difficult our circumstances, we can choose to focus on the Lord and His goodness to us.
“allowing lessons learned during the journey carry value.” This statement is one I am reflecting on in my life right now, as things are extremely busy and I feel like I am in a sea of overwhelming information, dates to remember, places to be, things to do, people to be attending to, work to do, a wedding to plan, love to give, energy to pour out, and on and on. I am trying to learn to let where I am right now be “the greener pasture” instead of waiting for the next thing to somehow be better. Choosing to take joy in what God is doing in my life now is what I want to do!
This post really reminded me that I can always choose joy. Even through the most difficult things, God is with me, and I should have joy in that.
As I read this post, I am reminded that it is not about the destination, but about the journey. There will be many times when we find ourselves in desperation, disappointment, depression when it comes to endings- or even beginnings. The repetition of choosing emphasizes an influence in how we choose to respond to endings. I love the final lines because they affirm that an ending is not the end- it reinforces a hopeful perspective that new dreams and purposes will arise even when old ones fade.
Your words show how important it is to find joy even when life is difficult. You remind us that the journey matters as much as the destination. Like C.S. Lewis, you see light in hard times and choose to keep going with hope. It’s a great message about faith, strength, and what really matters in life
This post reminds me so much of Jeannie Allen’s book “Get Out Of Your Head”. In that book she does a great job breaking down and explaining that we have the power to make the choice to end toxic spiraling thoughts and mindsets. I think that goes hand in hand with this post, we have the choice to see joy in the hard times, and we have the power through Jesus to overcome the difficult circumstances
I really like this the words remind me that joy isn’t something that simply happens to us—it’s something we actively engage with, even in the midst of scars, limps, and wounds. The idea of finding light in wounds and being healed by a Wounded Healer is powerful. It speaks to the paradox of faith—that brokenness and beauty often exist together, that our wounds do not define us but can become places where grace and healing flow.
The word is really what got me. The idea of the lord got me emotional. Struggling with my relationship but also learning how to gain and maintain one with God. The worship song that I tend to adore is wavemaker. Tends to really implement on how God can really do the impossible in ones life.
I loved reading this blog because it is a reminder for myself to look at situations in a different light. Being reminded that we have a choice how to react and redirect how we think helps us live a happier life. I loved this reminder!